Cops notch huge meth bust

Mexican drug cartels are always doing business in Chicago, but knowing just when and where is extremely difficult, police say.

Traffickers are often here just long enough to receive a shipment of drugs and distribute it before vanishing back to Mexico or the southwest U.S.

Busting two suspected operatives of the Sinoloa cartel as they moved 35 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 20 kilograms of cocaine out of a garage on the Southwest Side last week turned out to be the biggest crystal meth seizure in Chicago history, said Deputy Chief John Risley, who heads the gang and narcotics division.

Still, police say similar amounts of the drug frequently move through Chicago.

Acting on a tip, police staked out a house in the 5100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue and arrested two men driving separate cars away from the house Friday, police said. Both vehicles had secret compartments packed with drugs.

Sergio Valdez, 37, was driving a red Chrysler Concorde with an elaborate secret compartment built into the trunk and a special trap door in the back seat, police said.

Both men, who are Mexican nationals, were charged with drug possession and having vehicles with illegal hidden compartments.

The cars they were driving were registered locally to other people, according to state records. Police said they are continuing to investigate leads in the case.

An investigator said Valdez had brought the drugs to the Southwest Side from his "safe house" in Oakbrook Terrace. A search of his residence in Oakbrook Terrace later uncovered 21 more bricks of crystal meth and 20 kilos of cocaine.

Police said they do not believe any of the crystal meth was destined for street sales in Chicago. Most of the crystal meth use in the city is centered on the North Side and is supplied by small, more local, manufacturers of the drug.